“Despite the best efforts of dedicated ambulance staff, the service is not delivering the standards of service that patients expect and deserve.”

This week chief executive of the Betsi Cadwaladr health board Mary Burrows warned that severe flooding on the A55 had further hampered ambulance crews.

Health minister Lesley Griffiths has ordered a review of the ambulance service in Wales and suggested that she might increase the target from 65% Category A calls reached within eight minutes to 70%. Mr Millar said: “Whilst a 70% target is still below that in other parts of the UK, the Minister’s commitment to increasing the percentage of calls arriving within 8 minutes is very welcome. That said, it’s beginning to look more and more like a pipe dream given the sliding ambulance performance published today.”